Shadow of Fate
by Faeryl36
Summary: The Sekirei never made it to Earth as their ship crash landed on a whole different planet, one riddled with the plague of war. Can the birds still spread their wings to find their Ashikabi on such a deadly planet?
1. Chapter 1

To be honest I've read a lot of Naruto crossovers with Sekirei, but I've never read one where it's reversed. By reversed I mean the ridiculously chesty aliens with superpowers fight in the world of ninjas who aren't really ninjas but also super powered individuals; without further ado, my latest story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sekirei. To be honest I don't even know who owns Sekirei I'm sure it's someone, but it is not me. Nor am I a Japanese man by the name of Masashi Kishimoto so… Yeah I got shit.

Namikaze Minato sat at his desk looking at three individuals who could all easily be proclaimed as legends. His teacher, Jiraiya, as well as his two teammates, Orochimaru and Senju Tsunade, compromised the team known as the Sannin, Konoha's premier ninja team who had no peers. They had been trained under the Sandaime Hokage and even were amongst three of the five individuals who had lived after fighting Hanzo, the ruler and strongest ninja in all of Amegakure.

Even their skills outside of fighting were renowned. Orochimaru could easily be considered the smartest man in the Elemental Nations as well as the leading experiment in almost every scientific field. Tsunade was the world's finest medic and doctor. Even Jiraiya was an author, despite his major novels being of a less than decorous nature.

They hadn't moved at all through his pensive thoughts as per protocol for Konoha shinobi. "Rise," he said with a firm tone that represented his power and position, "and report."

Jiraiya stepped forward. Generally, if the three legends were to every gather, a very rare occurrence, then Orochimaru led and delivered the mission report. This mission was completely different though. It was given to Jiraiya by the Elder Toad Sage himself and therefore his teacher led the mission.

"We reached the crash site of what the locals in Tsume no Kuni (Claw Country) thought was a falling star. As the elder toad predicted, it wasn't. It was a ship of some kind from space and within it were no more than one hundred and seven fetuses all still alive in some kind of fluid along with one full grown adult who was suspended in the fluid as well."

Minato frowned. This had never happened before and if he were to be brutally honest he had absolutely no idea on how to handle it. "What do you suggest we do?"

This time Orochimaru stepped forward. "If I may be so bold," his long tongue licked his pale lips as he waited to be acknowledged with Minato granted with a dip of his head, "I believe that bringing these specimens into the village for study would be of great benefit to the village both for scientific research and as a deterrent."

The anticipation of having something like this spaceship in the village was displayed in the snake summoner's eyes. The yellow irises seemed to glow with an animation Minato nor Orochimaru's teammates had ever seen and it was horrifying.

Minato was still rather overwhelmed, but he was still a brilliant leader and knew that listening to his soldiers would be the best idea in this case. "How on earth would do you plan on bringing something that large into the village?"

"Reverse summoning would do it." Jiraiya said as he turned to his student, "We could have Manda or Gamabunta do it easily. Although I would suggest having it studied outside the village and on a need to know basis."

On the edge of his vision, Minato saw Tsunade give a silent nod of agreement. The Sannin had agreed after finding the ship that it would be something for the three of them to be involved in and them alone as it was certainly interesting to any scientist or doctor when you find seemingly flash frozen bodies inside a large metal hull.

"Fair enough. I want the three of you to devote all of your time to this project. Until we know if this ship as you called it is a threat I want the three of you to monitor and study it alone as an S-Class secret for the safety of Konohagakure."

Those were the last orders Namikaze Minato would give to the three as several months later the Yondaime Hokage would sacrifice his life for the village due to the machinations of a masked man.

Shadows of Fate

Orochimaru stared out of his latest lab's window. In the distance, he watched with mild delight as a burnt orange fox rampaged through his home. He really did hope that it didn't crush his underground labs; it would be such a setback to lose all of the data housed in there.

He may have been more worried if he wasn't spending almost all of his time on the ship. The data he gathered here was fascinating; never before had he encountered such unique genetic structuring. How he wished that Tsunade would work harder and find a safe way to bring them out of stasis without killing them. It would be quite the boon to his research if he could talk to that adult one.

His gaze shifted from the window to the aghast countenances of his 'teammates'. How immensely he reveled in their woe. Clearly Jiraiya was fretting over his student, Minato, and Tsunade was bound to be worried about that young girl she towed everywhere with her, Shizune, he believed. Not that he could actually care about her, unlike Jiraiya's student she had no inherent talent that would make her an interesting test subject. It was difficult for him to call them that when he felt no connection whatsoever, but they were involved in this research along with him so he would have to shovel his hate a little longer.

The whole project had delayed his plans a little longer in general. Ever since he had been driven from the position of Hokage by that so called genius of a blonde that his idiot compatriot taught, he had planned to leave the village. He had even stepped up his experiments on the shinobi and citizens of Konoha, something he hadn't done before Minato had usurped him of his prize.

An eternity seemed to had passed before the berserk rage of the tailed beast had subsided. Orochimaru inwardly smiled to himself. With such a drastic change to the village's life the research they were doing would certainly become more valuable. It would make things more… interesting.

Shadow of Fate

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a tired man. He had seen much in his years; at times it felt like it was too much. Tonight he felt that weight. His successor, Namikaze Minato, a genius who would only come once a generation, left an empty chair that night and a son who could be considered all but abandoned.

It would be a harsh existence for the boy that was for sure. While not uncommon for children to lose their parents due to wars or the occasional disease, it was very rare for a child to be left to his own devices on the day of his birth and bearing a bijuu no less. It would be a miserable existence for Uzumaki Naruto indeed.

The sound of the office door being opened alerted him to the five presences that he requested for consultation, his students being, despite their heavily evident faults, learned and wise ninja in their own right as well as his council, Homura and Koharu. The council had been established under his first stint as Hokage and they had advised Minato for the few years he held office.

"So that is the boy?" Right down to business as always. Orochimaru was always interested more in the future than the past, even if it happened less than an hour ago. Jiraiya was uncharacteristically reticent but that was to be expected considering the circumstances and Tsunade had her hand on his shoulder in a show of support.

"Yes this is Uzumaki Naruto."

Homura turned to his fellow student of Tobirama, "What are you going to do, Hiruzen?" They had fought together for so long that all formalities had been dropped between them, but the Sandaime would proudly admit that he preferred it that way.

In answer to the question he didn't know. Mito-sama was the first Kyuubi jinchuriki and it was well-known as she took the burden to end the fight between her husband and Uchiha Madara. After that it was given to the only other Uzumaki who had potent chakra like Mito so that the beast would not rampage in the wake of her death, Kushina. Kushina's identity as a jinchuriki was only revealed to those she told; it would not be that easy with Naruto. The people would need an answer as to where the beast went after the attack. The village also needed a deterrent to the other villages in the form of a jinchuriki. "I-I don't know. The people deserve to know where the Kyuubi is after all they have suffered tonight and we need the other villages to know that Shodaime-sama's gift to our village has not been lost, but I feel as if young Naruto were to bear a harsh burden that I do not wish upon any person let alone a child."

Koharu looked at him with a stern gaze, "You are right Hokage-sama, the people do deserve to know what happened to the Kyuubi and it is in the best interest of the village for us to have a jinchuriki as a deterrent."

"I will not have my godson be used as political fodder for the village!" for the first time that Sarutobi had seen him that night Jiraiya showed emotion. Clearly he was holding in much from the deaths of Minato and Kushina as well as Naruto's unique scenario but until now he didn't show it.

"Calm down Jiraiya! Naruto isn't the only one who will suffer if we put him first. The whole village could be put to war again if we don't be careful."

The white-haired man stared at the sleeping form of his godson for a few moments before storming out of the room. "Sensei," the soft voice of Orochimaru rang out through the room, "the village deserves to know."

"I know." That wasn't the issue that Hiruzen was facing internally. He felt the pain of having to give the boy of life of suffering for crimes he didn't commit. Minato left him in quite the position. "Homura, Koharu, I want you to alert the populace that the Yondaime sacrificed his life for the village today. He sealed the beast away into this boy, Uzumaki Naruto, so that we could live for tomorrow."

As his former teammates left the room he beckoned his remaining students to stay, "What are the three of you doing in the village?"

Orochimaru gave a coy smile and Tsunade a knowing smirk, whatever the reason for their presence it was bound to be interesting. The remaining three shinobi left the room to discuss their research with the reinstated Sandaime Hokage and never noticed the other presence in that room.

The sleeping form of Naruto was overshadowed by the form of a young man in a mask decorated by a flame pattern around its single open eye hole.

"Things are getting very interesting. Aren't they, Naruto?" The baby continued to sleep as the masked man went on, "I have big plans for this world and I hope you live to see the world without lies. It would be a fair trade with Minato-sensei; his life for his son's eternal happiness."

His hand reached to touch the child's hair, "Rin-chan would have loved to see her sensei's child." Without another word, his body seemed to distort and twist itself into the hole in the mask and then there was nothing.

Shadow of Fate

It had taken several more months of study but the team was ready. It was time they thawed out the adult body. Orochimaru was ecstatic at the prospect of a live specimen as he could only learn so much from the frozen ones.

He turned to the only other person he thought mildly capable in a lab, Tsunade, "Are you ready?"

She nodded and sent through a series of handseals before her hand adopted a green hue. She applied the appendage to the body of the purple haired woman and the solid blue stasis fluid seemed to evaporate.

If Orochimaru was not a trained killer with sadistic tendencies who had long since schooled his emotions he would have let out a juvenile squeal of excitement. It was almost time to see if all this research paid off.

"Where…" Her voice was weak presumably from fatigue. The cryogenic process would have been akin to waking up from a long nap and if the bodies in the ship were indeed human then they would suffer from similar effects.

Jiraiya's hand went to the unknown woman's as she tried to raise it. "It'll be alright. We're here for you."

"Are the others… Did the others make it too?" Concern was the only discernible emotion written on her face at the moment. If she was feeling others she was a very good actor.

"Yes although in their current form we decided that it would be a wiser to awaken you, as you are in a more stable form, to see if the process would work." Tsunade said as several beads of sweat dripped down her forehead. Orochimaru was not above noting the skills of others and in his eyes Tsunade could be considered almost a transcendent being. He would truly have given anything to have her body and not for the self-indulgent reasons that Jiraiya bore for the same wish.

With the rest of the fluid removed from the woman's body, Tsunade began to heal the fatigue away through her medical ninjutsu. The purple-haired woman slowly and as Jiraiya noted, very methodically, brought her torso up into an upright position.

Her gaze fell upon those around her and Miya for the first time in a long time observed those around her. There were four of them: one was very pale and sported an eerie smile, another was a very beautiful blonde haired woman with a green jacket, the next was an extremely tall man with a mane of long white hair, and the final was an elder individual with sharp eyes but a grizzled face as if he was always expecting the worse to happen.

She was still in the ship and she could still see the other one hundred and seven fetuses in the ship. That was good; as long as they were still alive they still had a chance. "What do you want with me?"

"We are less interested in you and more interested in why you're here. Anything else can be filled in later, but first and foremost we must be sure that you aren't a threat to our home." The elderly one in the white robes and hat was clearly the one in charge. Miya would concede that he had a fine point; any leader must ensure the safety of their people first and foremost. Unfortunately if they were to attack her they would find that she held a similar idea in mind.

"I am a Pillar for these Sekirei and if you are willing to grant it we are in need of your help." She tried to move forward to couple her request with a physical show of modesty but Tsunade wasn't quite done and instead Miya lurched forward in pain while she clutched her stomach.

"Sensei," Jiraiya started with a sad look in her eyes, "we have to help her."

Sarutobi looked outside into the night sky. It was always something happening in this village and what was even worse is he didn't even start this whole problem that stupid blonde bastard did. Then he had the courtesy to go die. Oh how he picture his successor in his white coat with a smug look on his face. Sarutobi, not for the last time that night released a sigh; it was going to be a long second term as Hokage.

Shadow of Fate

Miya was an alien and according to Tsunade an alien with almost an exact match in anatomy and genetic code to humans. She had told them that they fled their planet long ago with seven other ships but the others had yet to make it or hadn't made it at all.

In fact, it seemed they shared quite a bit of similarities with the inhabitants of the planet that they had landed on. They too had special abilities unique to each one that could be separated into four types: weapon, fist or close combat, elemental, and brain.

Their abilities were more specialized than a shinobi's though. While a shinobi may start out with no amount of talent for fire techniques he could develop it as well as other abilities over time, but a Sekirei was limited to their specialization although their innate sense for that particular talent would be much greater.

They also had very strange relationships. A Sekirei would bond with their Ashikabi through a kiss, a process called 'winging' as the Sekirei would grow wings. When this happened the newly winged Sekirei would become stronger and would be able to use his or her Norito by reciting a unique chant.

Now that it had been established that the race presented little to no threat but a great amount of research, Sarutobi was being pressured by his students into letting them stay here in Konoha. That would go over well. He could hear it now, "First we fight a demon and then this?" Yeah that was just what he needed now that he was back in the office.

"Honestly sensei I don't see what your problem is with it. Our idea is great." Tsunade said with her arms crossed beneath her bust and her head turned to the left. She always was too stubborn.

"Tsunade, you know as well as I that I can't just introduce a clan into existence in Konoha that no one has ever heard of. I don't even think that we can introduce clans to the village in general since it hasn't been done since the founding of the village. Do you know what kind of political outrage that would cause?"

She honestly did know, but Tsunade didn't care. She had always faced her problems in a head on kind of manner. "And I've told you that you that I don't give a damn about politics. These… Sekirei are both people, like you and me, with no home not to mention with the abilities that they have the potential research they offer us." She opened her eyes and uncrossed her arms from her chest, "Grandfather would let them in. He would always be willing to give people a second chance."

The Sandaime's eyes went to the first picture on the wall of a man clad in red samurai styled armor with a stern look on his face. Sarutobi felt that the picture did very little to capture the man's true nature as he was rarely stern but kind. "I know. I remember my first teacher fondly; he taught me a lot about what it means to lead a village with the Will of Fire."

"So did my second sensei, your great uncle Tobirama, taught me differently though. Where Hashirama-sensei taught me about how people of the leaf village need to be led Tobirama-sensei taught me how to defend that village from threats and these Sekirei can easily fall into the category of threats to this village."

"I was wondering if you had gone soft old man, but I can see that those thoughts were misplaced. You are fulfilling the role of 'Kami no Shinobi' (God of Shinobi) that you earned all those years ago." Tsunade's sarcasm slipped into a more pleading tone, "but this village wasn't built on a totalitarian rule that hardliners like Danzo want. It was built on the ideals of forgiveness and compassion that allowed the first hidden village to win three wars. It's that kind of belief that we have to share with the Sekirei, sensei. It's our job."

Hiruzen looked at the stern portrait of the Shodaime and the smiling face of the Yondaime. She was right. It was Konoha's place as the paragon of the Elemental Nation to help those less fortunate than themselves. "I'll see what I can do."

Shadow of Fate

It was a very rare occurrence for the clan heads to gather. It could almost be considered a taboo amongst clan heads to gather them all together.

Hiruzen sat at the head of the table both representing his position as head of the Sarutobi Clan and Hokage. To his left were the clan heads for the Senju, Tsunade herself, Hyuuga, Hiashi Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Tsume, and the last was the Aburahme who were led by Shibi. On the right was the Uchiha clan, under Fugaku Uchiha, the Nara, Shikaku, Yamanaka, Inoichi, and the last clan was the Akamichi with Chouza as their clan head. At the other end of the table was Miya herself representing the Sekirei.

"Are we already at war again?" The lazy drawl of Shikaku was the first to voice everyone's thoughts. That was the only reason in the history of Konoha that the clan heads were summoned.

The Sandaime shook his head as a negative, "No nothing so grievous. In fact this news could be considered as a rather joyous occasion. Many of you won't know this but several months ago Konoha came into contact with a foreign force that has never been heard of. Calling themselves the Sekirei they asked to join Konoha as a clan and so we gather here to vote on their fate."

Hiashi looked at the regal women at the other end of the table, "Would this be their representative?"

"I am Miya and you could consider me both the protector and leader of the Sekirei."

"Protector?" Tsume snorted, "Why would we let some nobody group into our village if they need a protector no matter how strong she may be?"

"Maybe because as of right now the majority of the Sekirei forces are indisposed as babies?" Tsunade voiced her opinion, "Myself, as well as the other Sannin, were tasked by the Yondaime before his death to look into the benefits that they could offer this village and I can personally attest that they would be nothing but a boon to our forces. Especially as we are already down since the Kyuubi attack."

"That could be the reason we might not let them in at all. If they wish to be a clan then they are going to need land and a compound. While we have the land to give I think that rebuilding our own homes would be of a higher priority." Many bad things have been said about Uchiha Fugaku but no one could deny that he always thought of the village first, however misguided that vision may be.

"I think it would be highly illogical to vote out any potential soldiers or civilians. We need to present a threat to the other villages and more shinobi make quite the deterrent." Hiruzen could not help but to try to repress his smirk. Shibi always broke things down in a logical manner and despite his utter lack of charisma his logic made up for it.

Shikaku turned to Miya, "Do the Sekirei have any special abilities that would allow you to be considered a clan in the eyes of Konoha like how we hold of Kekkei Genkei abilities?"

Miya nodded and began to explain how the Sekirei worked both in terms of power and culture with help from Tsunade. Tsunade watched the apprehensive gazes of the clan heads turn from disapproving to favorable. The comments had been spot on. Konoha needed troops right now and a new clan to show the world would put many ill at ease. The Sekirei couldn't have been found at a better time.

"Shall we vote?"

A resounding sound of 'Aye' throughout the room signified that the time for debate and discussion was over and it was now time for choices to be made.

The nine clan heads turned their focus and pens to the paper placed in front of them and wrote their responses, a yes or no, on the paper before folding it and giving it to the Hokage. In the end it was a landslide seven to two vote that sealed the deal. The Sekirei would join Konoha as a new clan.

Miya smiled. This council meeting was the first step to realizing her dream to see all the little birds that she protected flap their wings and fly to find their Ashikabi.

Little did the existing clan heads know, but there was an outsider who was not welcome hiding behind the wall. Danzo frowned as the heads granted citizenship to these… foreigners. It was disgustingly inconceivable to him to see this happen. While the boost in military power was certainly welcome how could he be assured of the loyalty of these new soldiers. They could be spies for all they knew; had Sarutobi gone senile? In the end, it didn't matter. He would take matters into his own hands and as the roots of the village uphold its mighty body.

So I guess you all know what this means right? Minaka and the MBI will kind of be replaced by the Sannin and Konoha military system. The next chapter will elaborate more on that though. Other than that I can tell you the story will follow canon but will have significant changes, starting with the whole Ashikabi/Sekirei thing.

So I have two Sekirei picked out but I'll probably go up to four based on reviewer's suggestions. So toss in any name you like, but I will warn you there are certain characters I already have plans for so no matter what they won't be used.


	2. Chapter 2

Here we are again with an extremely late update. I could bore you with the long list of things I have had on my plate this summer, but you wouldn't care. I wouldn't either. I barely even read a writer's opening note unless it's directly connected to the story. Speaking of topics directly connected to this story. Wow best feedback I have ever gotten for a story. I'm really psyched to see where I can go from here with it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sekirei but if I did I wouldn't waste all of the potential character development that Sasuke had like Kishimoto did and I wouldn't make Minato a total bitch like whoever wrote Sekirei did. Instead you see like fucking Wolverine or Alucard as the main character.

It was a strange sight. One would think that if someone were to dress up in bright orange while carrying a large can of paint and run through the street people would notice or perhaps laugh at the absurdity of the village's elite trying to catch a little kid.

Naruto had grown some since being a baby, although some would argue not that much. He still retained his distinctive whisker marks and spiky blond hair. He wore a dark shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol on it with a wire mesh shirt underneath. He sheathed his legs in a long pair of bright orange cargo pants which could, on cloudy days, be seen from miles away.

That was this was strange there was no joviality or glee instead a cold indifference. It bothered Kakashi greatly that no one cared for Naruto. It bothered him that he didn't really care for Naruto. He had all these people in the village who could watch him, but none of them did. They were always too busy. Jiraiya and Tsunade both were occupied with the Sekirei clan and getting them well established despite both of them having close ties to his parents. The Sandaime was around as much as being a leader of one of the five great villages would allow, which in hindsight was very little. He himself was busy with ANBU and high-priority missions.

As a result the kid was… difficult. He clearly had inherited none of his father's talent and all of his mother's fiery nature. In Kakashi's opinion it was the worst of all outcomes.

He watched silently from the roof of a building as Izumo finally caught the boy. He yelled something Kakashi couldn't hear but he say Naruto visibly deflate at the words being uttered from the man's mouth. He was probably making him go back to class or clean up his mess.

Shadow of Fate

Naruto was pissed. Once again he did something great, maybe the greatest anyone his age could possibly achieve. He was able to completely paint the Hokage monument and no one seemed to think it was funny. They hated it.

As he strolled his way into the classroom he felt the glares and stares of his classmates around him. They never understood either. Why would they though? They were all the special kids. Almost every single clan heir was in his graduating class this year.

First there was Uchiha Sasuke. He was only the most arrogant and nauseating person to ever be conceived in human form. Apparently, he was the greatest ninja to grace the academy halls and all the girls swooned over him like he was some kind of demigod. Naruto had heard that all of his family was killed making him the last of his kind; not that he really cared though. He tried not to associate himself with _that_.

Then there was Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. They were both pretty beautiful; especially Sakura, but they didn't really like Naruto. They thought he was 'annoying' or 'obnoxious'. Both were very skilled and got great grades in the academy. There was also some other girl. People talked about her, but he couldn't remember anyone else.

Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji were another group. Like him, they were all dubbed 'dead lasts' those with the worst grades. They hung out some times. Every once in a while they would all skip class or go start a prank with Naruto, but not often. He didn't really know them well enough to call them friends or anything.

Along with some guy named Shino they pretty much represented Konoha's clans in their entirety. The old man had told Naruto that it meant something important, but he forgot it. He had better things to keep in his head than useless knowledge about clans.

There were also the Sekirei kids. They were new to the village as they joined close to the time he was born. They had quite a few new members and got new ones every once in a while. The ones in his class annoyed him though. They always followed the rules and kept to themselves. The first was a silver-haired young boy named Homura who always fought with another girl in their class named Tsukiumi. A pair of twins named Hikari and Hibiki along with the others named Yume, Uzume, Shiina, a distinctly red-haired girl named Matsu, and Mutsu.

"NARUTO!" he turned to face what would be the worst part of his day, Iruka's screaming. "Get to your seat and sit down!"

He sighed and climbed into a desk. Iruka began to drone on and on and his focus wavered. His eyes met the clock and then his hands then they went back to the clock again. Before he knew it his vision began to darken and he was out cold.

He awoke to something that sounded strangely like "final exams are tomorrow" but he was convinced that it had to be part of a dream. He had several more weeks till then… right?

Shadow of Fate

"Uzumaki Naruto! FAIL!"

Dammit. That could have gone a lot better.

Naruto walked outside his hands behind his head and an angry smile marred his face. He had just failed the test for the third time in a row. He would be fourteen soon and after that they said he couldn't be a ninja. The old man told him that if he didn't get to be a ninja bad things were more likely to happen. He didn't really get it but words like "Danzo" were mentioned more than once.

"Hey Naruto," he turned his gaze to a silver-haired man running towards him. It was Mizuki he was one of the academy instructors. "Have you ever heard of the secret test?"

Naruto's eyes sparked into life. A secret test? They had that kind of thing? Why wasn't he told sooner? He could totally pass a secret test; he was great with secrets and ninja stealth stuff.

Shadow of Fate

It was around ten at night and the sky was painted with the inky colors of darkness. A small boy around the age of thirteen or maybe fourteen wearing orange pants, which were clearly visible in the darkness, crawled from the ledge and quietly fell onto the balcony.

The boy could barely see from his makeshift mask. It was made from an old winter jacket alongside his trademark goggles to cover his eyes. Naruto knew that even if the old man saw him, he couldn't tell who he was.

He moved with absolute silence around the chair with the hat on it. He knew from the hat that, even though he couldn't see him, the Hokage was there. Seeing the vault he raised his hand to it and began to – "Naruto! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was staying at the office late tonight. Every Wednesday was a special evening for him. He would pull out his student's signed copy of Icha Icha and light some candles. He would be an idiot to not constantly check for chakra presences, especially ones as big as Naruto's, to ensure that no one interrupted_ his_ evening. That would be awkward.

Dammit. He turned around and threw of his mask before making a hand seal. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" in a puff of smoke the whisker-marked blond boy was replaced by a significantly older looking whisker-marked blond girl. The nose of the Sandaime Hokage bled as if he had hit it with a shuriken.

He opened the safe and booked it. His cackling broke the silence of the night, "I'm so good. There is no way I'm not going to be made a genin tonight!"

Naruto made it to the safe house within fifteen minutes maybe nine; he couldn't really tell he didn't have a watch on him. He opened up the scroll and began to peruse its contents. Kage Bunshin Jutsu? Hirashin Jutsu? An almost predatory smile split Naruto's face. It was going to be a great night.

Shadow of Fate

Hiruzen walked up to the designated 'safe house' of Mizuki. If anyone actually knew Mizuki they would know that it was his home, but no one knew Mizuki. He had to use every ounce of ninja stoicism not to laugh at what he saw.

A blond kid, with somewhat heavy wounds, kicking a grown man, who had much more serious wounds, with the Forbidden Scroll draped across his shoulder. He noted Iruka had sustained a serious wound to his back, probably from Mizuki's large Fuma Shuriken.

He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He looked up to the standing Hokage and stopped kicking. Hiruzen smiled and began to laugh, a noise akin to a monkey's laughter after successfully hitting someone with its crap. In turn, Naruto began to snicker too and later Iruka began to make, what the Sandaime thought was laughter, noises as well.

After getting Iruka patched up in the hospital, the jinchuriki and Hokage sat down. "What can you tell me about the Kyuubi, Jiji?"

"What do you know?" There were no harsh words just a mere question followed up with a puff of smoke from a well-used pipe.

Naruto's face scrunched up into something that looked as if he was trying to remember and understand at the same time, "I know it's sealed inside me and I know the Yondaime was the one who did it the night it attacked. That's it."

"The sealing of a biju is not uncommon for shinobi. In fact, the first Shinobi War was fought over such an action. The person though is called a jinchuriki, a power of human sacrifice. They are to be burdened with the awful pain of hatred, both of their fellow man and the beast itself. The action is considered a sin of the highest degree but it is necessary. Each village must have its beast to maintain an uneasy balance of power. The Yondaime understood this and wished for you to be a hero."

Naruto looked down, "You know I don't really feel all that angry. I think I should be. I didn't ask for this someone just put it upon me and I know it isn't really fair, but it's not like I can do anything. Besides a Hokage needs to bear the burdens of the village too right? If I'm going to take that hat from you old man I'll need the practice."

"Have I ever told you of the Will of Fire, Naruto?" his only response was a silent shake of the head. "It is what drives the people of this village towards the great heights we have achieved. By accepting your fate and coming to terms with it you have achieved a spark many will not understand for years."

His hand went to his desk and pulled out a metal plate with the leaf symbol carved into it. "Those with the Will of Fire deserve this Naruto. Wear it with the same pride that I have in you."

A pair of steady hands wrapped it around and tied the knot. Naruto looked at the Sandaime and gave a brilliant smile, "you know what, Jiji? I won't live in the shadow of my fate; I'll keep it bright with the Will of Fire."

Shadow of Fate

"Shadow of Fate? Who does this kid think he is saying crap like that? Minato?" Jiraiya looked on the seated form of his sensei.

"Funny you should bring up the Yondaime, Jiraiya. I was just about to ask you why you haven't talked to you godson or even told him that he has a godfather."

Jiraiya looked towards the bookcase, "I've been busy. The Sekirei take a long time to heal and an even longer time to educate. Not to mention I have my research and spy networks."

"We've all been busy Jiraiya, but Orochimaru and I still have time to get out and help the people of this village."

"Funny that it's coming from you Tsunade; aren't you two you like cousins? I mean he is an Uzumaki. He shouldn't even be living in that crappy apartment. He's practically royalty on your side of the family."

The Sandaime shot a glare towards the slug princess as her mouth opened in retort, "Both of you stop. I will not tolerate this bickering. We have all failed Naruto in one way or another. Any of us could have helped him along and could have helped him but we didn't. This inaction led to his actions tonight. I plan to remedy this."

"You can't possibly think that training him will make a difference, do you sensei?" Orochimaru asked in an utterly disbelieving tone. "You can't make a great sculpture out of sand; you need good materials like clay. He has failed training on his own for years, even if we give him a good teacher what do you think would change?"

"Jiraiya was rather incapable when he came before me as a genin." Hiruzen ignored the squawk of indignation from Jiraiya and continued, "He has two notable parents as well as being the host of the strongest biju. Tonight the boy learned the Kage Bunshin in less than an hour and was able to use it to defeat Mizuki."

Jiraiya smirked, "As well as getting past you. How did he manage that by the way?"

"Shut up Jiraiya."

Shadow of Fate

Naruto walked into the classroom for the final time. It was strange; he had never really felt anything towards this place but now he wished that this wouldn't be the last time. He wished he had cherished his time here more than he had.

Everyone began to arrive and they all quieted down once Iruka entered the room. It was time for team placements.

"Team Five! Shiina! Mutsu! Matsu! Your jonin-sensei will be Shiranui Genma!"

"Team Six! Hikari! Hibiki! Yume! You jonin-sensei will be Shizune!"

"Team seven! Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura! Uchiha Sasuke! You are all placed under Jonin, Hatake Kakashi!" Dammit.

"Team Eight! Hyuuga Hinata! Aburame Shino! Inuzuka Kiba! You will be taught by Jonin, Kurenai Yuhi."

"Team Ten! Nara Shikamaru! Akimichi Choji! Yamanaka Ino! Your jonin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma!"

"Team Eleven! Homura! Tsukiumi! Matsu! You team will be led by the jonin, Uzuki Yugao."

Shadow of Fate

Their sensei, the man who would shape them into the ninja they needed to be, stood before them and was totally unimpressive. He was tall with silver hair that was kind of spiky and slammed to one side with the forehead protector as it was slanted to cover one of his eyes. "Let's do some introductions."

"…What the hell does that even mean?" Let it be known that there is no one blunter than Naruto.

"Oh. I guess I should go first. Hm… My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like some things. I dislike others. I have hobbies but you aren't old enough to hear about them."

"That was enlightening," Naruto muttered.

The one visible eye closed, "How about you go next?"

Naruto practically jumped off the railing, "Alright! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you already knew all that. I like my own greatness, ramen and the greatness of ramen, and that Hokage Hat. I dislike people who don't like ramen, vegetables, and things that happen slowly. My hobbies include eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them and that's really it."

'So he is completely from Kushina's gene pool. He has no attention span, adores ramen, and has an obsession with the position of Hokage.' Kakashi thought, "You're next pinky."

Sakura smiled, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I dislike people who are loud like Naruto or Ino. I like," her gaze shifted over to Sasuke next to her and he violently twitched his eye as if having an aneurism of some kind. "My hobbies include…" Her gaze once again fell upon Sasuke whose hand went to his kunai pouch on his leg.

"You're up, dark one."

"My name is Sasuke of the Uchiha clan. I don't have any likes. I dislike many things and I have one goal… no an ambition to kill a certain man and rebuild my clan to its former glory."

'How interesting. It's almost like Naruto is Obito and Sakura is Rin and Sasuke is me… shit.'

"I'll see you guys tomorrow for the real test." He disappeared in a swirl of leafs. "Forget Breakfast; you'll only throw up." His voice rang out from behind them, "Ja."

Shadow of Fate

"Let's see if you can get these bells, my precious little genin." The fact that he hadn't opened the one visible eye since Naruto had met him bothered him, "If you manage to get one, then I can take you on as a student."

Naruto grinned. Beating people up for things should be a specialty of his.

The next thing he knew he was tied to a stump. Dammit.

Shadow of Fate

"I don't know what it is about you guys but something feels good. I think I can take all three of you on as students." Kakashi drawled as the two bells rang as he swung them. "Yeah this feels real good." His visible eye closed once again but before it did he saw three faces look toward each other with varying shades of happiness. One beamed enthusiasm like the sun, another smiled serenely although anyone could tell she was very pleased with herself, and the final one smirked. In the shade, of the monument to the fallen Kakashi imagined a day when he wore that smirk and when Rin wore that smile. When Obito wore that grin…

Well that's it for tonight. Sorry about the lack of actual Sekirei in this chapter. I promise there will be much about their lives and their interactions with Naruto in the next chapter.

Leave a review. I really don't ask for input often but I got so much last time that it changed this chapter and I liked this chapter. I hate it when an author writes their story because we all enjoy it together. So drop a line and tell Faeryl36 what you want to see.


End file.
